As the magnitude of inflows into the reservoirs upstream continues to intensify, Irrigation officials of the Krishna delta are seeking release of water from Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP) at least on conditional basis to save the standing crop. Irrigation officials are seeking release of at least 15 tmcft of water to delta from the NSP for saving standing crop. After the onset of monsoon which played truant in the first few weeks, farmers went ahead with transplantation of paddy in over one lakh acres in down stream districts of Krishna delta, Krishna, Guntur, West Godavari and Prakasam, dependent on inflows from NSP for kharif needs.
“The standing crop needs 15 to 20 tmcft of water during August for ensuring that it did not suffer damage because of water shortage,” a senior official of NSP told The Hindu . The issue had been represented to the Krishna River Water Management Board seeking release of water, if need be, with some pre-conditions to ensure that crops did not suffer damage.
The current inflows into Alamatti, Narayanpur, Jurala and Srisailam have brought cheer to farmers as well as officials. But, they are worried over whether or not the Telangana government permits release of water from NSP where water level is little over the minimum draw down level (MDDL). “There are several precedents of water being released to the delta from the MDDL and the same convention should be followed now,” was how a superintendent engineer monitoring the releases from the NSP said.
Steps should be initiated to harvest the paddy sown in the first week of July before October-end, the officials claimed saying any failure in ensuring release of water in time could result in severe damage to the standing crop.
“The Telangana government can release water with some pre-conditions. But the priority should be on providing water to the standing crop which will otherwise face the threat of being withered away,” a senior official said. Officials are worried over the claims of their Telangana counterparts about serving the needs of ayacut in Nalgonda and meeting drinking water needs of Hyderabad before releasing water downstream. “Krishna delta is an ancient delta contributing significantly to the food basket of the country. It should get priority in release of water going by the conventions and precedents in vogue. The claims on drinking water needs of Hyderabad too will not hold ground as the metropolis needs at the most six to seven tmcft of water,” the official said.
